Year: 2015

Day four also included a visit to Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio. Carter and I took a hike there, which meandered through a gorge and crossed a little stream several times. This was when the weather started turning cold again, so we were feeling pretty averse to getting wet. Carter still ended up ankle deep in the stream at some point, and I had to stick the hotel's hair dryer in her shoes later that night to get them dry enough for the next day's adventures.

Day four started with a trip to the house where they filmed my favorite Christmas movie - "A Christmas Story", which was based on a set of short stories written by Jean Shepard. We got to explore the house and touch pretty much anything we wanted - I was expecting a bunch of velvet ropes. What was cool is that the house is just in the middle of a normal, Cleveland neighborhood.

Second stop on day three was the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. I've been spoiled by the amazing zoo in San Diego - but I've still got to say that this was a pretty good zoo. They had some really nice enclosures - the African exhibits were especially nice. They had the lions, zebras, ostriches, and giraffes all together in one giant enclosure, with the lions separated from the others by a very well-disguised dry moat that you could only see from certain angles. Carter got to feed a giraffe too - that was quite an experience! She said that he had a really weird, really slimy tongue.

First stop of day three was to visit an old friend of mine. He lives in Ohio now, and I don't think we've seen each other in person for almost twelve years. It was great to see him again! It's so weird - we both grown men with families now, but I suspect if our kids weren't around we'd slip right back into our ridiculous high school ways. Hopefully it won't be another twelve years before I see him again!

This was the view from the patio behind the hotel we stayed at in Pittsburgh - gorgeous!

Right across the street from our hotel in Pittsburgh was a big grassy park with these really cool old smokestacks. At night they light them up with a bunch of spotlights on each one. It really celebrates Pittsburgh's heritage as a steel town.

The other thing we did on day two was visit the Indian Echo Caverns, also in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They were much cooler than I expected. I didn't realize there was so much limestone in that area. Some of the formations were really amazing. There were a bunch of school fieldtrips there that day, but luckily our tour group started right after the last of the schools had finished, so we didn't have to deal with any loud, giant crowds.

Day Two started with Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I think this place was nearly Heaven for Carter. There was chocolate and candy everywhere, and it was nearly empty as it was a school day. We met another family that was on a road trip from Missouri, and they gave me some great ideas of things to see when we eventually make it out to that state on a future road trip. While at Chocolate World we tried the chocolate tasting session, rode the tour ride, and we got to make our own custom candy bars. Unfortunately the candy bars melted in the trunk while we were at our next stop, and were liquified by the time we got to the hotel and wanted to try them. We stuck them in the fridge overnight to try and stiffen them up. It worked well enough to enjoy them a little before bed - but we had to toss them after that.

First stop was a the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in Connecticut. Carter really dug the dinosaur fossils, but she wasn't feeling fantastic on the first day and burnt out pretty early. There were very few people in there, so we sort of had the place to ourselves. The mineral exhibit was pretty cool tool - some of the specimens were enormous!

Carter and I just got back from her road trip. This time we headed west, and got as far as Columbus, Ohio by way (primarily) of Pennsylvania and New York. Along the way we visited a lot of cool places, which I plan to post about in upcoming posts. It was a great time - but we're happy to be home. The weather cooperated for the whole trip, although the temperature was all over the place - on the first couple of days it was in the eighties, but the rest of the trip was fifties and sixties at best. Ohio was a new state for me, and I've got to say that I liked it. Very scenic, and everyone there was super-friendly. So good job, Ohio!